Amarillo
|next = |viewers = (live / total) 2.20m / 4.81m |synopsis = Jimmy's client outreach efforts thrive, and he exhibits new heights of showmanship. Mike is perplexed by daughter-in-law Stacey's troubling news. }} "Amarillo" is the third episode of the second season of Better Call Saul and the thirteenth episode of the series altogether. Summary Teaser In Amarillo, Texas, Jimmy leans against the wall of a run-down building as a bus full of Sandpiper Crossing residents slows to a stop in front of him. The driver, who has been bribed by Jimmy to stop here, hops out, apologizing to his passengers for a "hiccup." Jimmy steps aboard, searching for a Mrs. Alma May Urbano and asking if she received a Davis & Main class action mailer concerning Sandpiper's overcharging. Other passengers overhear their conversation and pepper Jimmy with questions. Jimmy explains that Sandpiper may have overcharged them, too, and offers to help get their money back. Shortly thereafter, the seniors file off the bus at their restaurant destination, handing a pleased Jimmy their signed letters of engagement. Act I Back in Albuquerque, the Sandpiper co-counsel meets at HHM, with Chuck again in attendance. Turning to the topic of client outreach, Cliff offers to save Jimmy from having to brag about recently gaining more than 200 new clients in the past few weeks. Suspicious of his success rate in Amarillo from only a single response to their mailer, Chuck poses the concern that solicitation - an illegal practice - was involved. Jimmy insists the residents came to him, not the other way around. As the meeting moves on, Jimmy tries to play footsie again with Kim, but this time she pulls away. Realizing that she is also skeptical of his methods, Jimmy assures the group that, in order to avoid any impression of impropriety, he will find another way to proceed. After the meeting, Jimmy chases Kim down and admits to soliciting. Frustrated, Kim reminds him that she went out on a limb to get him this job and that his actions reflect back on her. At Stacey’s house, Mike shows Kaylee how to play with a new toy pig. Satisfied that his granddaughter is entertained, he heads to the kitchen to deliver an envelope of money to help Stacey with her expenses. Mike notes that Stacey appears to be on edge. When he presses, she reveals that she’s been hearing late-night gunshots in their neighborhood. Mike insists on staying over to keep watch, but Stacey firmly turns his offer down. Act II At Davis & Main, Jimmy and Omar review response rates for their class action mailers. Out of the 283 mailers sent to the Sandpiper branch in Colorado Springs, Jimmy is irked to discover that they received zero responses. In the lobby, Jimmy catches Cliff as he heads out for a business trip. Jimmy takes the opportunity to quickly update him on the case, speculating that Sandpiper staff members in Colorado Springs are throwing their mailers away before residents can see them. He pitches an alternative way to reach clients: a highly-targeted television commercial. Cliff acknowledges that the firm produced a commercial for a previous class action lawsuit, so he'd be open to discussing the idea. Back in his office, Jimmy appraises Davis & Main’s previous foray into the world of legal advertising. Their lackluster commercial leaves him underwhelmed. Jimmy arrives at Mrs. Strauss’s house and meets with the UNM camera crew that previously filmed his billboard stunt. Jimmy gives the jaded film students a pep talk, describing his vision for the commercial. They’re interrupted by Mrs. Strauss, who descends from the second floor via her stair-chair, dolled up and ready for her close-up. Meanwhile, Mike parks across the street from Stacey’s house and keeps vigil overnight. Hours later, he tenses as a car slowly creeps toward him, but it turns out to be someone innocuously delivering newspapers. The next morning, a sleepless Mike settles into his parking booth, exhausted. He’s alarmed when Stacey calls him in a panic. As he pulls into her driveway, she beckons him over to the side of the house and points to a nick in the stucco. Stacey informs him that she heard gunshots again last night, and one of the bullets struck too close to her home. Mike knows firsthand that this is impossible. He gently suggests that it might have been a dream, but Stacey is adamant. Mike vows to move her and Kaylee out of the house and into a safer neighborhood. Act III At his apartment, Jimmy screens his Sandpiper commercial for Kim. They watch as a somber Mrs. Strauss tearfully admits that her life savings disappeared when she moved to an assisted living facility. Kim is impressed by the commercial, but surprised Cliff is on board with it. “Why wouldn’t he be?” Jimmy asks, avoiding a direct response. At Davis & Main, Jimmy broods over whether to show his commercial to Cliff. He strides toward Cliff’s office with the VHS tape in hand, but stops short. He hastily returns to his office and calls the ad sales department at a TV station in Colorado Springs. Mike visits Caldera to look for more work. Caldera offers him a low-paying bodyguard job, but Mike requires more money. “You want next-level pay? You’ve got to do next-level work,” Caldera responds, mentioning that he knows a loan shark in need of an enforcer. Mike refuses to do any work requiring him to hurt people, and settles for the bodyguard job instead. Act IV Jimmy paces anxiously in his office as his commercial is about to hit the airwaves. He confirms with Omar that all calls will be correctly routed and answered. Reassured but still nervous, he retreats back into his office and tries his old “magic fingers” ritual to summon calls. Just as he’s about ready to admit defeat, the phones begin to ring. Jimmy heads out into the bullpen, where all of the assistants are taking calls. Jimmy takes in the bustling bullpen with pride. Meanwhile, Stacey and her daughter sleep soundly in Kaylee’s tiny bed. Having finally convinced Stacey to let him stay over, Mike lies awake on her couch. His phone vibrates; Caldera offers him a “next-level” job from a guy specifically requesting Mike. Jimmy and Kim watch the film Ice Station Zebra over wine and takeout. Their night is interrupted by a call to Jimmy’s cell phone. It’s Cliff, who is furious at Jimmy for airing a commercial without consulting him or his partners. Jimmy tries to smooth over the situation by pointing out the high volume of client traffic the commercial has already yielded. Cliff demands that Jimmy show the commercial to the partners the next morning before hanging up. For Kim’s benefit, Jimmy pretends that Cliff called to congratulate him on the ad. He rejoins her on the couch, doing his best to hide his concern about the storm he’ll be facing tomorrow. Meanwhile, Mike drives up to a desolate meet spot. He approaches his new employer: Nacho. He tells Mike, “There’s a guy. And I need him to go away.” Official Photos Better-call-saul-episode-203-jimmy-odenkirk-4-small-935.jpg better-call-saul-episode-203-mike-banks-small-935.jpg better-call-saul-episode-203-jimmy-odenkirk-5-small-935.jpg better-call-saul-episode-203-jimmy-odenkirk-2-small-935.jpg better-call-saul-episode-203-jimmy-odenkirk-small-935.jpg better-call-saul-episode-203-jimmy-odenkirk-3-small-935.jpg better-call-saul-episode-203-jimmy-odenkirk-6-small-935.jpg better-call-saul-episode-203-jimmy-odenkirk-7-small-935.jpg better-call-saul-episode-203-clifford-begley-small-935.jpg better-call-saul-episode-203-nacho-mando-small-935.jpg Trivia * The name of the episode "Amarillo" is spanish for "Yellow". ** Jimmy catches the attention of one of the seniors by using "Canary-Yellow" paper in his ads. ** In Breaking Bad, Jimmy occasionally used yellow shirt. ** When shooting the commercial, the walls of the house had the color yellow. ** The teaser scene in which Jimmy persuades many Sandpiper Crossing residents takes place in Amarillo, a city in Texas. *Jimmy mentions a "Caesar's wife" situation - a reference to Julius Caesar's supposed statement "Caesar's wife must be above suspicion," when asked why he divorced his wife Pompeia. *One of the ad guys is saving up for a VX-2000 camcorder. *The line "I'm ready for my closeup, Mr. McGill," is a reference to Sunset Boulevard. *Jimmy and Kim watch Ice Station Zebra together as she loves this movie. In Breaking Bad, Ice Station Zebra associates is the name of Saul's holding company. *The toy pig Mike shows his granddaughter is the same toy pig he places on Duane Chow's door peephole as a means to distract Chris Mara while he sneaks up behind him in the Breaking Bad episode Madrigal. **It can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G2FN23O/ *The Alpine Shepherd Boy is seen again. Production Credits Starring= Starring * Bob Odenkirk as Jimmy McGill * Jonathan Banks as Mike Ehrmantraut * Rhea Seehorn as Kim Wexler * Patrick Fabian as Howard Hamlin * Michael Mando as Nacho Varga * Michael McKean as Chuck McGill |-| Guest Starring= Guest Starring * Ed Begley Jr. as Clifford Main * Kerry Condon as Stacey Ehrmantraut * Jessie Ennis as Erin Brill * Joe DeRosa as Caldera * Josh Fadem as Joey Dixon * Carol Herman as Geraldine Strauss * Omar Maskati as Omar |-| Co-Starring= Co-Starring * Luis Bordonada as Brian Archuleta * Julian Bonfiglio as Sound Guy * Abigail Zoe Lewis as Kaylee * Carolyn Wickwire as Alma May Urbano * Jack Caffrey as Amos Lydecker * Paul Howard Smith as Bus Driver * Dana Mellen as Dana * James E. Dowling as Francis * Julian Petersen as Julian * Iris Dunbar as Iris * Maida Ward as Maida * Zachry Wheeler as Kevin * Jimmie Wolf as Yvonne |-| Uncredited= Uncredited * Robert Clotworthy as Spokesperson - Davis & Main TV Commercial (voice) * Adrian Gurule as SMQ Booth Attendant * Steve Larese as Lawyer in Stairwell * Lee Stanley as Lt. Mitgang (archive footage) Filming Locations * The Texas Flag wall shown in the episode is actually located in Albuquerque. It was painted to look weathered and the payphones were fakes. It can be found on the back corner of a furniture store located at the corner of Madison & Central Ave. Featured Music *'"Waltz Across Texas"' by Ernest Tubb (plays while Jimmy waits for the Sandpiper bus to "break down" in Amarillo.) *'"Jealous Heart"' by Thomas Richard Smith Sr *'"Put You On The Team"' by Icy Black Feat. Nameless and Kil The Giant *'"Deliberations"' by Dave Porter *'"Magic Hands"' by Dave Porter Memorable Quotes es:Amarillo Category:Better Call Saul episodes Category:Season 2 episodes (Better Call Saul)